Silver by Another Name
by Prince Arjuna
Summary: Yuuna Narukami transferred into Yasogami High at Yasoinaba, expecting a normal school life. Not only will she get herself involved in a bizarre murder case, she will also learn the harsh truth behind her existence. Will she fight to reach for her destiny? Or will she allow herself to be a plaything of fate? GENDERBENT AU. CHAPTER 03: SAKI KONISHI
1. Yuuna Narukami

_**"Where… where am I?"**_

 _I was nearly blinded by bright light the moment I opened my eyes. The brightness was so unbearable I immediately closed my eyes as soon as I opened them. The light was so bright, it might as well burn into my retinas._

"Ah, she's awake…" _A voice spoke, and the voice sounded distinctively feminine._ "Truly, the construction is successful. For the time being, she will take his place." _I had no idea what the speaker was talking about, but I knew that she was talking about me._

"Don't forget that I'm contributing too," _another voice spoke. The voice also sounded feminine, but this time, the voice lacked the elegance the previous voice seemed to have. It also sounded a little childish, and I was tempted to mention that. Of course, I refrained myself from saying that, knowing that I might end up stepping on a landmine._

"Such an unfortunate fate that has befallen upon our esteemed guest," _a new voice spoke. Unlike the previous two, this voice sounded like it belonged to a man._ "Still, it is in our best interest to contribute in assisting our guest in order to reach his destiny, even if we have to resort to… this." _The man's voice sounded a little sad, for some reason._ "Now then, let us proceed…"

 _I could feel the intensity of the light lessening, and slowly, I opened my eyes. The moment I opened my eyes, I blinked in befuddlement as I found myself seated on a rather comfy seat. From the look of my surroundings, I noticed that I was in some kind of vehicle. A limousine, to be exact. There was a cabinet filled with bottles of liquors, and the smell of alcohol lingered in the air. The blue light in the area made my head throb a bit, but it was bearable than before, because it didn't make my eyes burn._

 _Then, I focused on the individuals before me. The first one that caught my attention was an old man with a peculiar appearance. Bloodshot eyes, long nose, imp-like expression, suspicious grin, mysterious aura… well, I could go on and on describing the man with a long nose before me, but let's focus on something else instead. Sitting adjacent to him were two women, and I made an assumption that the voices that I heard a while ago were theirs. Sitting on his right was an elegant-looking woman with platinum blonde hair, attired in a blue dress. On his left was a younger-looking woman clad in a sleeveless white shirt and a checkered skirt with a belt adorned with a fancy-looking buckle shaped like a winged heart. Sitting on top of her head was a blue officer hat. She was also wearing a pair of black-striped detached sleeves as well as a pair of striped thigh-high stockings and high-heeled boots._

 _The woman in blue smiled at me while the younger woman gave me a neutral look. Then, the long-nosed man chuckled mysteriously as he clasped his gloved hands together, focusing his bloodshot eyes on me._

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, my lady…" _The long-nosed old man spoke in a rather smooth voice, and I noticed that he was clad in a rather posh-looking suit. The man might look a little creepy, but he sure had style._ "Through the will of fate itself, you are summoned here in the Velvet Room, a place that exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. This is a room that only those who are bound by a "contract" may enter." _The old gentleman chuckled again as he shifted his hands._ "Through various circumstances, you were chosen as our guest. I must say that I did not foresee such a thing occurring, but let us put this matter aside for the time being." _He swayed his hand, and a book appeared on the small table in front of him. I just noticed that the table was there the whole time. I had no idea how and why I missed it before._ "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

 _I blinked, and the small table and the book were already in front of me. I didn't realize that they had moved to me. There was also a bottle of ink with a quill in it. I glanced at the three individuals in this place. The old gentleman was smiling mysteriously, the woman in blue smiled amusedly, and the younger woman did not smile, for some reason._

 _I looked back at the book before me. It was a contract of sorts, telling me that I will be held responsible for all my actions, and I choose the course of my actions of my own free will. Some kind of ordinary contract, if you ask me. I reached out for the quill at the bottle of ink and started writing my name on the contract._

 _ **Yuuna Narukami**_

 _After I was done writing my name, I put aside the quill, and the table and the contract returned to the old gentleman without me even realizing it. When I started wondering whether this was some kind of magic or not, the old gentleman with a long nose clasped his hands once again before he spoke,_ "Ah, how could I forget introducing myself? Do forgive me, then. My name is Igor, and this one is Margaret, my assistant. She is a resident here, just like myself." _He gestured at the woman in blue._

"My name is Margaret…" _The woman in blue introduced herself to me._ "I am here to accompany you through your journey."

 _I looked at the other woman, who didn't seem to be terribly interested in me. She seemed busy writing something, from what I could tell._

"And this is Marie…" _Margaret said, gesturing at the younger woman._ "And do forgive her. She is still new to this, but like me, she will also be assisting you in your journey." _The younger woman, Marie, didn't say anything. Instead, she just let out a huff and continued writing whatever she was currently writing._

"Well then, now that you were chosen as our guest, you may as well be concerned about the circumstances regarding you being chosen," _Igor said._ "Still, the circumstances cannot to be revealed to you, at least not yet. Due to some… unfortunate situation that has befallen upon our current guest, or rather, our previous guest, you were called forth as his "replacement" of sorts…"

 _ **"Replacement? I… I am a replacement?"**_

"Yes…" _Igor's tone sounded forlorn when he answered my question._ "This is such a cruel thing that fate has done, but in order to make sure that our guest's destiny is not lost forever in the fog, it has to be done. Are there any more questions?"

 _ **"N-no… I…*sniff* I have no questions."**_

 _Marie stopped writing and looked at me. She tilted her head._ "Why are you crying?" _She asked._

 _ **"I'm a replacement. Th-that means… I'm not real."**_

"The question of whether you are real or not is something that you shouldn't be concerned with for the time being," _Margaret said._ "Still, that doesn't change the fact that you are a replacement. Your role is to ensure that our guest's destiny and future are safely protected from the malice of the fog. Even so, whatever you do, you are still held responsible for all of it." _Margaret smiled warmly, which made the revelation less painful._ "Thus, whether you are real or not is not to be questioned."

 _ **"Still, is it alright if I request something?"**_

"A request? Rare, but not surprising…" _Igor said._ "What is it that you wish for?"

 _ **"I wish that… my knowledge of me being a mere replacement is to be taken away from me. This is my journey, and I'd like to remember it as truly mine instead of being a mere placeholder for some lost hero who wanders aimlessly in fog. Is that wish… acceptable?"**_

 _Both Margaret and Marie looked at each other before Marie nodded._

"Your wish… shall be granted," _Marie said solemnly as she rose from her seat and walked over to my direction._ "Stay still. It'll only take a while. I'm going to take your memories a bit…"

 _ **"Will it… hurt?"**_

"It won't. You won't even feel a thing…" _Marie said, her gray eyes filled with sympathy. She leaned towards me and lightly kissed me on my forehead._

 _ **"Thank you…"**_

 _I could feel tears rolling down my cheeks as my memories were shaved away. I closed my eyes as I readied myself to sink into emptiness._

* * *

 **Silver by Another Name  
**

 **Persona 4 AU Fanfiction**

 **Chapter 01: Yuuna Narukami**

Yuuna Narukami felt a little uncomfortable while she was sitting on her seat in the train that was on its way to Yasoinaba. Her neck hurt a bit, probably due to a bad sleeping position. She grimaced when she tried to move her head, and a person who was sitting beside her, who was a thirty-something woman, gave her a concerned look.

"Oh my. Did you hurt yourself while you were sleeping, dear?" The woman asked.

Massaging the back of her neck, Yuuna looked at her fellow passenger. "I-I guess so…" She smiled bashfully, feeling a little embarrassed that she somehow caused another person to worry about her. "Don't worry, though. It doesn't hurt a lot, I think…"

"Now, now, don't give me that, dear…" The woman shook her head disapprovingly. "You have to take good care of your body. You're still young and healthy, unlike the plain old me, hohoho…" Then, the woman looked at Yuuna. "And you're quite pretty too, which reminds me of my younger self," she started reminiscing about her past.

To have someone call her pretty, of course Yuuna would feel a little pleased. Still, she didn't really consider herself too pretty, at least not as pretty as those models that she usually saw in the fashion magazines. She let out a sigh while listening to the rambling of the woman who was sitting beside her about her wasted youth as she glanced at the window, looking at her own reflection.

One thing that she could describe about herself was that she was baby-faced. Of course, not literally baby-faced, because that would be ridiculous. Some of her friends at her old school told her that she was adorable, and added with her smooth skin, she often became a victim to some of the female students who thought that she was so huggable. To make herself less adorable and more mature and elegant, she fashioned her hair in a bob haircut and often spoke in contralto so that people could take her seriously.

Let's just say that the hugging lessened, but they still happened every once in a while.

Another thing that made her unique was her silver hair color. Contrary to common belief, it was her natural hair color, which she somehow inherited from her father. It made her less adorable and more mysterious.

One thing that Yuuna could hope once she became a student at Inaba was that there wouldn't be things like female students thinking that she was too huggable they'd try to kidnap her and bring her home every now and then. She would be enrolled at Yasogami High School for a year. Due to her parents being busy with their businesses, she would be living with her relatives at Inaba.

From what her mother had told her, she would be living with her uncle, Ryoutaro Dojima, a police detective who was currently living with his daughter, Nanako Dojima. She had seen their photos, and she had make an assumption that her uncle was a rough, no-nonsense middle-aged man. Well, it was too early to make a judgment, because she would be meeting with them soon.

* * *

 **"Yasoinaba Station. Yasoinaba Station…"**

Now that Yuuna had arrived, she stepped out of the train. There were not many people at the station, which was kind of expected, considering that this was a rural area. She dusted her gray jacket and adjusted her collar. She also made sure that her stocking looked right, because she needed to give a good impression to her uncle and cousin.

Carrying her bag, she walked out of the station, looking around for the people whom she should meet. "Hey, over here!" Then, she heard a voice before she saw the man she believed to be her uncle, because that's how he looked in the photo. There was a little girl standing beside him.

The middle-aged man was carrying a jacket over his shoulder, and there was a cigarette box inside the pocket of his shirt. When Yuuna saw them, the man smiled and beckoned her to come over.

Yuuna walked over to them and stood before them. Judging from the man's looks, it didn't look like he shaved often. He's probably too busy with his duties as a police detective to take care of his own appearance, she thought. As for the girl who was beside him, Yuuna suddenly felt that she was slowly overwhelmed by the sudden urge to pet her, due to how adorable the little girl was. And let's not mention those pigtails. Oh god, those pigtails. And she looked shy too as she hid herself behind her father. Yuuna tried to suppress her urge to grab her and bring her home, with small success. Pigtailed and shy, that sure was a dangerous combo ever.

The middle-aged man studied Yuuna for a while before he spoke, "Well, you sure look like your mother when she was younger," after a while, he added, "you took your hair color after your father, though." He held out his hand, offering Yuuna a handshake. "Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryoutaro Dojima. I'll be looking after you."

"Thank you. I'm Yuuna Narukami. Pleased to meet you, Uncle," Yuuna said politely as she bowed slightly. "It's been a long time…" She didn't really remember about it, but her mother had told her that she had met him when she was still a baby.

"I'll say." Dojima smiled at his niece. "You've really grown. I still remember when you were in diapers. Now look at you, you're just as pretty as your mother."

"R-really?" Yuuna felt a little embarrassed when Dojima said that. Of course she was pleased to have someone calling her pretty, but when someone said that he had seen her in diapers before, of course she would be embarrassed by that.

Then, Dojima looked at the little girl behind him before he gently pushed her forward. "This here's my daughter," he said. "Come on, Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin."

Fidgeting, Nanako was silent for a few seconds before she spoke, "…'lo." Then she immediately retreated back to hide behind Dojima, causing him to chuckle in amusement. She was blushing in embarrassment.

"What're you so shy for?" Dojima asked teasingly.

In response, Nanako pouted and slapped on Dojima's back lightly. Seeing that, Yuuna silently reigned her urge to reach to Nanako's head to pat her. That sight was so adorable which made her thought that it should be weaponized as a military-grade weapon.

"Nanako-chan, right?" After making sure that she wouldn't do anything untoward towards the little girl, Yuuna approached her and lowered herself to the little girl's level. She smiled at her as she spoke, "It's nice to meet you." She held out her hand, offering Nanako a handshake.

Hesitantly, Nanako reached out to the offered hand, shaking Yuuna's hand. Then, Yuuna got up and looked at her uncle.

"Well then, let's get going…" Dojima said before he went to where he parked his car, which wasn't too far from there. Nanako followed her father, and Yuuna followed both of them. They entered the car before Dojima drove away.

* * *

"We'll stop at the gas station for a while," Dojima said while driving. He turned the wheel, moving the car to the Moel Gas Station, which was located at the shopping district of Inaba. As the car arrived, a gas station attendant came running towards the car. A green truck left the station after the attendant left it. The attendant greeted Dojima.

"Hi, welcome to Moel!"

Dojima looked at his daughter. "Can you go to the bathroom by yourself?" He asked.

"Uh-huh." Nanako nodded before she stepped out of the car. Dojima also came out of the car as the attendant waited for him dutifully. As Nanako came out, she looked around, her expression indicated that she was confused. Yuuna thought that she looked cute while confused. She didn't seem to know where to find the bathroom.

"It's in the back, to your left. You know which way's left? The side you don't hold chopsticks in," the attendant told Nanako in a joking manner. Hearing that, Nanako pouted as her cheeks reddened a bit.

"I know," Nanako protested. "Geez…" She ran to the place where the attendant had pointed at. Yuuna also came out of the car and saw Dojima talking with the attendant. The police detective was telling the attendant that he was taking Yuuna from the train station.

"Fill up my car while you're at it. Regular's fine," Dojima said.

"Right away, sir!" The attendant cheerfully nodded. Dojima left to have a smoke for a bit, leaving Yuuna with the attendant. Then the attendant spoke to Yuuna, "Are you in high school?" The attendant's tone sounded curious.

Yuuna blinked a few times. "A-are you… hitting on me?"

This time, it was the attendant's turn to blink. Then, the attendant chuckled. "Well, I do admit that you are quite eye-catching, but don't worry, I'm on duty today." The attendant's lips curled up into a friendly smile. "So, are you in high school?"

"Yeah, I'm a second-year," Yuuna answered.

"Ah, I see, I see…" The attendant mused. "Well, for a city girl, you certainly don't look like one," the attendant said in an amused tone. "So, does it surprise a city girl to see how little there is out here?"

"Hmm… not exactly." Yuuna shook her head.

"Well, there's so little to do, I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs," the attendant said. "Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now." The attendant walked over towards Yuuna, offering a handshake. "Give it some thought, why don't you? We don't mind if you're student."

Yuuna looked at the offered hand before she glanced at the attendant's face. That smile on the attendant's face looked honest.

"I'll think about it," Yuuna said, shaking the attendant's hand.

"Oh, I should get back to work," the attendant said after letting Yuuna's hand go. When the attendant left to fill the gas for Dojima's car, suddenly Yuuna felt dizzy. She almost lost her balance and ended up using Dojima's car to support herself. She grimaced, feeling a little nauseous. She didn't know what happened to her, but she thought that something was wrong with her head. She shook her head, trying to shake the strange feeling off her head.

Nanako, who had just returned from the bathroom, looked at her cousin's face, blinking a few times before she spoke, "Are you okay? Did you get carsick?" From her tone, it sounded like she was concerned about her. "You don't look too good," she added.

Feeling that her dizziness had subsided, Yuuna smiled at Nanako. "I'm alright. Sorry to make you worry, Nanako-chan."

Then, Dojima returned to the car, seemingly having finished smoking. He noticed that his niece seemed to be a little unwell. "What's wrong, Yuuna? You okay?" He asked.

"I just felt lightheaded," Yuuna answered as she rubbed the back of her head. That's probably it, because it was quite a long journey from the city to Yasoinaba.

"That's understandable. It must have been a long trip for you," Dojima said. "Why not take a little walk, get some fresh air?" He suggested. "Just let me know when you're ready to go."

"Alright, thanks, Uncle…" Yuuna said. So, Yuuna decided to take a walk around the shopping district. She could see some people doing their own businesses. From what she could tell, the shopping district was a place where the people of the town went to shop at. Strangely enough, though, the shopkeepers seemed to be complaining about the declining sales.

For Yuuna, it sure was a nice change of pace compared to her life back at the city. She liked it this way.

As she walked, she saw a girl walking down the street. Her appearance seemed to catch her attention due to how strange her attire was. She was clad in a sleeveless white shirt and checkered skirt, with detached sleeves and striped stockings, as well as a pair of high boots. And for some reason, the girl seemed familiar to Yuuna, but she couldn't exactly put her finger on it. It's like the harder she tried to remember, the harder it was for her to remember. And when she tried to look at the girl again, she had disappeared.

"Huh, that's strange…" Yuuna muttered to herself. Not too far from her, there were two students, probably siblings, bickering with each other about eating one's snack at a fridge. Yuuna decided to let them be as she returned to the gas station.

* * *

It was already raining the moment they arrived at the Dojima residence. She would be living there for a year before being transferred again. Well, a year would be the longest time for her to stay in one place compared to the previous ones, where she only stayed for four to five months at most.

While having dinner, Dojima was called for duty, leaving Nanako and Yuuna alone in the house. So, they watched the television to see the latest news about the scandal of a certain TV announcer, Mayumi Yamano, with a city council secretary, Taro Namatame. It was just some news about glamorous people, and Yuuna didn't care about it too much anyways.

As for Nanako, despite her initially shy appearance, she was overall a sweet child and could be cheerful at times. She was seen singing the theme of commercial song of Junes. Once again, Yuuna had to refrain her urge to pet her on her head due to how adorable Nanako was. This time, she had failed as she succumbed to the urge, petting the little girl's head. Nanako gave Yuuna a befuddled look when the latter was petting her head.

After taking about a lot of things, both Yuuna and Nanako decided to call it a night. Yuuna went upstairs where her things were already put but had yet to be unpacked. It was a simple bedroom with a couch, a study desk, a futon and a television. Intending to unpack the things later, she decided to sleep.

It was quite a long trip from the city to Yasoinaba. So, she needed some good rest.

* * *

 _ **"Where am I?"**_

 _The moment I opened my eyes and came back to my senses, I found myself in a foggy maze. It was too foggy, and I could barely see anything around me. Due to some reason that confused me, there was a rusty, old katana sheathed on my hip. I pulled it out and looked at the blade. The blade was dull and chipped, but at least I was well-protected, even though I might be probably dreaming._

 _Having no choice but to move forward, I walked ahead despite the fog obscuring my view. I tightened my grip on the katana in my hand._

 _ **"Where am I?"**_

 _I repeated the question to myself again. I had no idea what was going on with me. Was this a dream? That, too, I had no idea. I continued moving forward, despite having no destination in my mind. How could I even find a destination, with the fog in my way?_

 _As I walked, I tripped, and I let out a cry of pain. It hurt. I lost my grip on my rusty katana, and with the fog surrounding me, it would be hard for me to find the katana. As I frantically searched for my dropped weapon, I accidentally cut my finger with the blade, causing me to yelp in pain._

 _ **"I-it hurts…"**_

 _I whimpered. I could feel blood coming out of my finger. Still, I managed to find the katana, and I picked it up. I put my bleeding finger into my mouth in order to stop the bleeding, and I could feel the taste of blood as I did that._

 _I continued walking down the foggy maze. I just walked without directions, and I didn't even know where my feet might lead me to. I could only hope that nothing would jump out of the fog, attacking me. Well, at least I still had my sword with me, even though it was rusty and almost useless in a fight._

 _As I walked, suddenly my instincts screamed at me, telling me to duck. I immediately ducked, and I heard the sound of a blade cutting through empty air just passing over my head. Even though it was foggy, I could see a sharp blade cutting through the air above my head. If I didn't duck, I might have ended up losing my head._

 _I mustered my strength into my legs and jumped away. I rolled away before I steadied myself, and I saw a silhouette of a man, holding a katana. Unlike mine, the katana looked sharp and deadly. The silhouette swung the blade into the air several times before it assumed a fighting stance._

 _I gulped before I mirrored the silhouette's movement. I had a feeling that it was useless to run away, and I still had my weapon with me._

 _Without making any sound, the silhouette charged towards me, viciously attacking me with its sword. I, on the other hand, defended myself with my sword that might break anytime. The silhouette was so fast I could barely follow its movements, and thanks to the fog, it made it harder for me to keep track on it._

 _After a dozen hits, the silhouette managed to break my katana and hit my face with the hilt of its sword. I let out a cry of pain, and it took its chance to sink its sword into my stomach._

 _It hurts._

 _It hurts I want to die._

 _It hurts I want to die so badly._

 _Just kill me._

 _Just kill me and pull out the sword._

 _Just kill me and pull out the sword and decapitate me._

 _It hurts._

 _Roughly, the silhouette pulled out the sword from my stomach, and I fell down to the floor, bleeding. I let go the hilt of my broken sword as the silhouette loomed over my broken body._

 _I fell to my side, and I was able to see the face of the one who stabbed me. It was a boy with silver hair._

 _Silver hair just like mine._

 _And he was crying._

 _He knelt and hugged me, even though he was the one who stabbed me._

 _I could feel my life ending._

 _Still, the boy hugged me as he cried, even though he was the one who killed me._

 _And so, the fog thickened, and both of us were swallowed whole in the fog._

* * *

"AAAH!" Yuuna screamed as she jolted up from her futon. Clad in her pajamas, she found out that she was in her room, the one that was given to her by her uncle, Dojima. Panting heavily, she immediately unbuttoned her shirt and checked her stomach to see whether there was a wound or not.

There was no wound. Not even a speck of blood on it. Smooth as a baby's skin.

"W-was that… Was that a dream?" Yuuna muttered to herself. She figured out that she was drenched in sweat. "O-or… was that a nightmare?" She pressed her hand on her stomach. Even though it was a dream, it felt real. She still could remember the sensation of a blade passing through her stomach, stabbing through her muscle tissues and flesh. She still could remember the sensation of her life bleeding out of her.

Such recollections caused her to shudder, she almost didn't realize that someone was knocking on the door of her room.

"What's wrong?" Yuuna could hear Nanako's voice from outside her room. She immediately buttoned her shirt back. "I heard you scream. Did something happen?"

At first, Yuuna wanted to tell her cousin that nothing was wrong, but then she got up from her futon and went to the door. She opened the door and saw her cousin, clad in animal pajamas. Panda pajamas, to be exact. She was also hugging an animal plushie, which was also a panda. Such a sight caused Yuuna to momentarily forget that she had a nightmare earlier.

"W-well… I had a nightmare," Yuuna admitted.

"Are you okay? You don't look too good," Nanako said as she looked at Yuuna's face.

"Haha, well… I guess that nightmare kinda made it hard for me to sleep," Yuuna sheepishly said as she scratched her cheek.

Nanako tilted her head. "Do you want to sleep with me?" She offered.

Yuuna blinked a few times as she looked at her cousin's innocent face. Then, she nodded and smiled.

"Sure, that sounds nice."

So, Yuuna went to Nanako's room and slept together with her. No more nightmares came to her that night as she slept by Nanako's side.

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Hello, this is Prince Arjuna, and welcome to my non-crossover fanfiction, **Silver by Another Name.** So, this is an AU fanfic, which features a genderflip protagonist, or rather, a female protagonist. And one thing that I have realized about non-crossover fanfics are that they aren't as famous as crossover fanfics, which means this fanfic may have trouble to be well-known among the readers. So, I am begging you, the readers, to read this fanfic, and leave some comments regarding this fanfic, if you are kind enough.

So, this story is about the characters questioning their existence, and some other mind screw stuff that I may add later. And Yuuna Narukami may or may not exist in the story. Also, this will be elaborated in later chapters. I hope this is good enough hook for you readers to be interested in the story.

Also, special thanks to **Sorata Shioya** for beta-reading this chapter. It's nice to work with you, like always. So, please stay tuned and look forward for the next chapter, **Chapter 02: School Days.** See you all soon!

 **Prince Arjuna (2015)**


	2. School Days

Yuuna opened her eyes, waking up from her slumber, and found herself under an unfamiliar ceiling. It took her a moment to realize that she had started living with her uncle and cousin at Inaba. She brought her hand to her face, rubbing her eyes before she realized that she wasn't in the room that was given to her.

The silver-haired girl was in a futon with Nanako, who seemed to be sleeping soundly while hugging her. The young girl was breathing lightly while cuddling against her body. Seeing such an adorable little girl nuzzling against her was quite a sight to behold for Yuuna, and it took almost all her willpower to restrain herself from rubbing her face against hers.

Yuuna remembered that she decided to sleep together with Nanako after she woke up from a nightmare. She could still make out some of the things that happened in her nightmare. She was glad that her cousin was with her, or else she might not have been able to sleep the whole night due to the nightmare.

She checked the clock in the room. It's almost six. She figured out that it would be nice to get up early and prepare some breakfast for both her cousin and her uncle. However, when she tried to get up from the futon that she shared with Nanako, she felt Nanako's hug tighten as the small girl pressed her head against Yuuna's chest. Having Nanako's head pressed against her breasts, Yuuna blushed slightly. Both of them may be girls, but she didn't expect to get someone getting too close to her to the point of pressing their head against her bosom.

Carefully, Yuuna removed herself from Nanako's futon, making sure to not wake the little girl up. Then, she silently sneaked out of Nanako's bedroom and went into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and washed her face. Feeling refreshed, she returned to her own room to change her clothes.

First, she unbuttoned her shirt, removing it. Then, she removed her pants, leaving herself naked. Using the mirror in her room, she checked her body a few times before she smiled in satisfaction. There was nothing strange on her body that might cause her first day at her new school to be awkward. After that, she opened her drawer where she kept her underwear.

"Hmm… let's see…" Yuuna mused to herself as she checked the assortment of her panties in the drawer. Putting them into the drawer was the first thing she did after her arrival here. Being a normal girl, she made sure to keep them organized, and as expected, they were in many colors. After mulling over which one she should wear, she decided to pick the white one, considering that it was her first day at school. There was no significance in her choosing what color of panties she should wear other than her own preferences, and it's not like she was going to show her panties for all to see anyways.

After putting on the white panties, she put on a bra that matched her panties' color. Then, she put on her school uniform, first her skirt, and then the sailor fuku. She checked herself in the mirror and smiled in satisfaction. It's been a while since the last time she wore a sailor fuku uniform. Back at her old school, she wore a white blouse under a blazer, as well as a skirt. Wearing a sailor fuku sure brought up a nostalgic feeling in her.

Next, she put on her stockings, which were also white in color. She often saw girls her age wearing pantyhose or thigh-high stockings, which made her think that wearing such things was popular for girls nowadays. Still, after trying to wear them once or twice, she decided to continue wearing plain white stockings because the plain stockings were more comfortable than wearing pantyhose or thigh-high stockings.

It took her less than twenty minutes to dress up, and she still had plenty of time left to prepare breakfast. She put on a pair of animal slippers which could be found in her room and went downstairs. She went to the kitchen and checked the fridge. There she found some eggs. She decided to make sunny-side eggs for breakfast. She also decided to make some toast after finding bread in the fridge.

Putting on a pink apron, she started preparing breakfast. When she put the frying pan on the stove, she heard the sounds of footsteps. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Nanako, who was a little surprised to see her cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Nanako had already dressed up for school.

"Ah, sorry, Nanako-chan," Yuuna said apologetically. "I thought that since I'll be living here, I would be preparing some breakfast for you and your father…" Then, she looked around, noticing that her uncle, Dojima, had yet to show himself. "Anyways, where's your father?"

"He's still working…" Nanako answered. "He's a police detective, and he hasn't returned home since yesterday…" The young girl's eyes seemed a little sad. "He's pretty busy…"

"Ah…" Yuuna noticed that her cousin was a little sad because her father hadn't returned home yet, even though it's already morning. "I'm sorry about that, Nanako-chan…" After moving a lot due to her parents, she knew how it felt to feel alone.

"That's okay." Nanako smiled slightly. "I'm used to it." Then, she walked over to Yuuna's direction, looking at what her older cousin was doing with curiosity. "Are you cooking breakfast?"

Yuuna nodded. "Yup. Wanna help?"

"Yes!" Nanako answered enthusiastically. So, Nanako helped Yuuna to prepare their breakfast. Making their food was simple, yet both of them were having fun while preparing it. One thing that Yuuna noticed about Nanako was that she looked cute while smiling. Once again, she tried her best to rein the overwhelming desire to pet her cute cousin's head. In the end, she was defeated by her desire as she patted Nanako's head. Nanako just blinked in confusion after having her older cousin pat her head.

After the two girls were done preparing their breakfast, they ate their breakfast together. While eating, Nanako told Yuuna about the elementary school she attended that was located not too far from Yasogami High School, the school that Yuuna would attend during her time in Inaba. Nanako also told her that she liked going to Junes, the market store that had opened in Inaba six months ago. Apparently, she liked going there because they had a lot of things there. One couldn't simply find toys and whatnot at the shopping district, right?

Once they were finished having breakfast, they went to school together. It was raining, so they brought umbrellas with them. On their way to school, they saw other students, most of them being high school students.

"Your school is that way," Nanako said as she pointed at one direction. "Just go straight ahead. My school is that way." She pointed in the opposite direction. "See you after school. Bye!"

"Bye, Nanako-chan, be careful on your way," Yuuna told Nanako as the latter left. With Nanako on her way, Yuuna continued walking to her new school.

On her way to school, Yuuna became one of the witnesses of some incident which involved a male student of Yasogami High School. Said student apparently lost control while riding his bicycle, crashing into some nearby trash bins. It was already expected, because he was holding an umbrella while riding his bicycle. And even though she is a girl, Yuuna couldn't help but wince after seeing the boy hurting his 'precious area' after crashing. In the end, Yuuna decided to leave the poor boy be. After all, it's not like she could do anything to help him in his predicament.

Then, as she continued walking, a female student just ahead of her dropped something. It seemed that she didn't notice that she had dropped her belonging. Yuuna immediately picked it up and rushed over to the female student. "Umm… excuse me," she said. The female student stopped and looked behind. She was a girl with wavy hair, pale skin and droopy eyes. Yuuna thought that the other girl looked quite beautiful. "You dropped this." Yuuna held out the thing that she picked up, which was some kind of handmade pouch.

"Ah." The other girl looked at the pouch. "I didn't realize I dropped this thing." She accepted the pouch from Yuuna. "Thank you for picking this up for me." She smiled at Yuuna.

"It's only natural…" Yuuna answered, smiling back at the other girl as she brushed her hair behind her ear.

After getting back her pouch, the other girl studied Yuuna's face and furrowed her brow. "I haven't seen you before. New student?" She asked.

Yuuna nodded. "Yeah. Today's my first day at school. I'm a second-year."

"Ah, I see, I see…" The other girl mused, smiling good-naturedly. "I'm a third-year, so that means I'm your senpai. My name is Saki Konishi. Nice to meet you…" She held out her hand, offering Yuuna a handshake.

"Nice to meet you too, Konishi-senpai," Yuuna said, shaking Saki's hand. "I'm Yuuna Narukami."

Even before reaching the school grounds, Yuuna had already made a new acquaintance. Both of them walked together to school as they chatted to each other.

* * *

 **Silver by Another Name**

 **Persona 4 AU Fanfiction**

 **Chapter 02: School Days**

One thing Yuuna could say about her homeroom teacher, Kinshiro Morooka, was that he wasn't the most pleasant person to have around, if his brusque way of talking was any indication. The first thing he did upon meeting her was lecture her about not trying to be a bad influence to the boys in his class due to her being a city girl. He also chastised her for wearing a short skirt. Yuuna had no idea where that came from, because she thought that her skirt was of acceptable length.

Yuuna also had many things to say about the teacher's looks, but she decided to keep all of them to herself, because she wasn't a mean-spirited girl.

After everything was sorted out, albeit with a little bit of difficulty due to Mr. Morooka's stern lectures, it's about time she was introduced to the class. He treated all his students the same way he treated her earlier: with disdain. He told the class that as long as he was in charge of the class, all the students would be white as driven snow, whatever that actually meant.

"Now I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this transfer student!" Mr. Morooka gestured at Yuuna, who was standing in front of the class. "Now boys, just 'cause we have a pretty face here doesn't mean you can go gaga over her, ya hear me?! And who knows what kind of things she did back at the city, so you boys better not get any idea about hitting on her!"

Yuuna, who was standing beside Mr. Morooka, felt conflicted. On one hand, he seemed to be implying that she might have done something unsavory back at the city. Well, he didn't say that outright, but it felt like he was calling her a slut. But on the other hand, the teacher seemed to make it his responsibility to make sure that the boys wouldn't get crazy over her, even though it was a little ridiculous when she thought about it for a moment. At the very least, she at least respected him for trying to do his job as a teacher, even though it seemed unprofessional for an educator like him to act like that.

"We ain't got no time to waste, kid, so hurry up and tell 'em your name!" Mr. Morooka told Yuuna.

Nodding, Yuuna smiled before she bowed slightly as she spoke in a polite tone, "Hello, everyone. My name is Yuuna Narukami. Please take care of me." She bowed again. She had been doing this many times because of her being constantly transferred from one school to another.

The students started murmuring with each other. Mr. Morooka scowled before he shouted, "Shut yer traps, ya damn brats! And you too!" He glared at Yuuna. "I know what you're tryin' to do there! Tryin' to use your charms to make the boys go crazy over you, huh?!"

"N-no… I-" Yuuna stammered, but Mr. Morooka wasn't finished yet.

"Now listen up, kid! This town ain't like the city you used to live in! Don't think you can use your pretty face and sweet words to get what you want here!" Mr. Morooka continued glaring at Yuuna, who was a little intimidated by the teacher. "You better not think of trying to be a bad influence to the others here, especially to the boys! But what do I know? It's not like the old days. Even here, kids grow up so damn fast!"

Mr. Morooka continued his stern lecture to the students, particularly to Yuuna. The teacher didn't seem to be showing any sign of stopping his lecture before a girl clad in a green jacket over her school uniform raised her hand. "Ah, excuse me! Is it okay if the transfer student sits here?" The jacket-wearing girl asked, pointing at the empty seat beside her. Mr. Morooka frowned as he glanced at Yuuna.

"Huh? Yeah, sure, hear that? Your seat's over there," Mr. Morooka said as he pointed at the empty seat. "So hurry up and siddown already!"

"Ah, thanks…" Yuuna said as she walked over to the empty seat. Actually, she was grateful of the jacket-wearing girl's intervention, or else the lecture could have gone on and on. She sat on the seat and took a glance at the girl who was apparently her savior. "Thanks for the save," she whispered. She noticed that the girl had light brown hair. Bleached, perhaps?

"Anytime," the girl whispered back. She glanced at Mr. Morooka before she added, "He's the worst, huh?"

Yuuna smiled. "Yeah, kinda figured that out already…"

The jacket-wearing girl grinned. "Well, rotten luck for you to get stuck in this class." Then, she shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to hang in there for a year."

In front of the class, Mr. Morooka started his lecture. He didn't even bother opening a textbook.

"Yeah…" Yuuna whispered to the girl beside her. "Let's do our best together, neighbor."

"Same to you, neighbor…" The girl whispered back.

* * *

After the end of class, Mr. Morooka announced that proper lessons would start tomorrow. The moment after class ended, there was an announcement, telling all students to remain in their classroom until further notice.

"Did something happen?" One student, a female one, wondered aloud.

"Dunno," another student, this time, a male, replied as he shrugged. "But, man… it's so foggy outside, we can hardly see anything out there."

Yuuna, who was sitting at her seat, glanced at the window. It was foggy outside. It somehow reminded her of her nightmare, about her walking through a foggy place before meeting a silver-haired boy who killed her by stabbing through her stomach. Just remembering the feeling of having a sword piercing through her stomach was enough to make her shudder. While it was just a nightmare, it sure felt real.

The students around her were chatting and gossiping about rumors. Because the students had nothing better to do while wait for the moment they were allowed to go home, gossiping was one thing that they could do. Yuuna paid no attention to what they were talking about, though, because she was thinking about the significance of the nightmare that she had last night.

In the end, she decided that despite how real it felt, it was just a dream. A nightmare, to be precise, but a dream still. There was no use in thinking too much about it. While she was seated at her desk, she could hear the sounds of sirens from afar. Unsurprisingly, the students were interested in such a thing, considering that hearing the sounds of sirens in a quiet rural town was quite rare.

 **"Attention, all students. There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the school zone. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible, and quickly leave the school grounds."** Another announcement was made through the intercom. **"Do not disturb the police officers. Head directly home. I repeat-"** the rest of the announcement was drowned out by the sounds of gossipers wondering aloud about what had happened. The students became restless after hearing the announcement.

 _"Something might have happened…"_ Yuuna thought as she got up from her seat. _"Maybe I should quickly head home. They said that there are police officers dispatched around here, so Uncle might not be home for a while, and Nanako-chan might be alone at home."_ She picked up her bag and turned on her heel. Before she could walk away, however, she was approached by two girls. One of them was the jacket-wearing girl who sat beside her.

"Hey, are you going home by yourself?" The jacket-wearing, brown-haired girl asked Yuuna in a friendly tone. The other girl who was with the brunette looked at Yuuna, and she was wearing a red cardigan over her school uniform. One thing that Yuuna noticed about the girl in red was that she was quite pretty. "Why don't you come with us?" The brown-haired girl offered, smiling.

Yuuna stared at both girls. She realized that she had yet to learn their names, even though the jacket-wearing female had been sitting next to her since morning.

The girl somehow realized that she hadn't introduced herself too, so she decided to rectify the oversight. "Oh, I nearly forgot. I'm Chie Satonaka!" She introduced herself. "You know I sit next to you, right?"

"Of course…" Yuuna said, smiling at Chie. "My name is Yuuna Narukami, but you probably know that already. Nice to meet you, Satonaka-san."

"Nice to meet you too, Narukami-san!" Chie beamed cheerfully. "Don't call me Satonaka, though. It makes me feel old. Just Chie is enough."

"Alright, Chie-san…" Yuuna nodded. "Will you call me Yuuna?"

"Sure!"

Yuuna looked at the girl standing next to Chie. Noticing that Yuuna was looking at her, the cardigan-wearing girl decided to introduce herself as well. "Ah, my name is Yukiko Amagi. And…" She looked aside, fidgeting a bit as she scratched her cheek. "I'm sorry that this is so sudden. I hope Chie's not bothering you," the girl named Yukiko said apologetically.

"It's fine. Chie-san did help me this morning. I don't think she's bothering me at all," Yuuna said, smiling kindly at Yukiko. "And nice to meet you too, Amagi-san."

Chie gave Yukiko a sour look. "C'mon now! Don't apologize like that, Yukiko! It makes me look like I got no upbringing! I just wanted to ask some stuff. Really, that's all."

"Umm… w-well, that's not what I meant," Yukiko embarrassedly replied.

Chie let out a huff before she looked back at Yuuna. "Alright, let's get going!"

Three of them started walking to get out of the classroom, only to stop when a boy with reddish brown hair stood in front of them. Once again, Yuuna furrowed her brow, noticing that there were some students here with bleached hair. Well, she had silver hair, so she had no right to complain about other people's hair color. The boy was lanky and a little pale. It took Yuuna a moment to recognize the boy as the one who got himself involved in an incident back then when she was on her way to school. He crashed his bike into trash bins and somehow hurt his family jewel. That might probably explain his unhealthy look.

"Uh… Miss Satonaka?" The boy began, addressing Chie awkwardly as he took out something from his bag. He nervously held the item that he took out from his bag as he continued, "This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just amazing to see…"

Chie blinked in confusion as her eyes darted from the boy's face to the item he was currently holding. Yuuna, who was a few steps behind the jacket-wearing girl, had a bad feeling about this, and she wisely took a few steps back.

"And… I'm really sorry!" The boy held out the item that he was holding to Chie. Yuuna took a good look at the item. It was a DVD case of kung fu movie, Trial of the Dragon. She remembered watching the movie when she was little. It amazed her that someone got a hold of the DVD, because it was no longer distributed. Such a thing could be considered a vintage due to its rarity. "It was an accident! Please just have mercy until my next paycheck!" The boy begged desperately while Chie absentmindedly took the DVD case from him.

When the boy said 'accident', Yuuna recalled what happened to him this morning.

The boy retreated a few steps back as soon as he handed the case to Chie. Then he decided to immediately walk away.

Sensing something was wrong, Chie quickly followed the boy and shouted, "Stop right there, Hanamura! What did you do to my DVD?!"

With ferocity likened to a panther, Chie approached the fleeing boy and delivered a kick towards the part between his legs. Yuuna and Yukiko could only flinch upon seeing Chie's leg slamming hard against the boy's precious family jewel.

"Argh!"

The boy was in pain upon receiving a kick to his groin. That had to be painful, which was made clear by the expression on his face. While the boy was groaning and writhing in pain, Chie opened the DVD case in her hands and let out a horrified gasp upon seeing its content. "What the?!" Yuuna had a feeling that the content of the case might have been broken in half, thanks to the incident that occurred this morning. "I can't believe this! It is completely cracked!" Chie wailed. "My Trial of the Dragon!"

As for the boy, he whimpered, "I think mine's cracked too…" He was still in pain. "C-critical hit to the nads…"

Yukiko looked at the boy with concern. "A-are you alright?" She asked.

"Oh, Yukiko-san… are you worried about me?" Despite the pain he was currently experiencing, he still managed to smile after hearing Yukiko's question.

Chie scowled and then glared at the boy. "He's fine, Yukiko. Let's ditch him and go home." She put the DVD case of her kung fu movie into her bag. Then she walked out of the classroom, followed by Yukiko, who spared the boy a look of pity.

"Umm…" Yuuna remained as she looked at the boy, who was still groaning in pain. "D-does it hurt? Do you need something?"

Before the boy could say anything to respond to Yuuna's question, Chie called from outside, "Yuuna, c'mon! I'm sure he'll be alright!"

"Umm… w-well, see you later, then. Make sure to not move too much while it's still hurting, okay?" Yuuna told the boy before she rushed to follow Chie and Yukiko, leaving the boy behind. She hadn't even learned the boy's name yet.

* * *

In a different plane of existence, there was a female, sitting before a great torii gate. Clad in a white, hooded ceremonial robe, she was sitting in a seiza position, seemingly chanting some words that no mortal men could comprehend. As she did so, mist seemed to be forming around her, as if responding to her chants.

"You will not succeed…" A voice spoke out before a platinum-blond woman clad in blue attire appeared, walking over to the robed female's direction. She was holding a thick-covered tome under one arm. "The boy has been ripped away from our reality, and he does not exist anymore…"

The robed female looked at the woman, glaring at her with a pair of mismatched eyes. "Shut up! We won't know unless we try!"

The woman sighed. "Marie…"

"J-just leave me be…" The robed female, Marie, said, as she remained seated. "I will try to find a way to take him back and return him to this reality. I know you want to do so too, Margaret."

"Hmph…" Margaret raised one eyebrow. "Are you implying that I'm the same as my sister, Elizabeth?"

"You may appear calm, but you can't hide this from me…" Marie said. "You wish to save him too, right?"

Margaret then chuckled. "I wish you weren't this perceptive, Izanami-no-Mikoto. Yes, it is true that I wish to save him also, but… there is nothing we can do but go with the flow. And the replacement seems to be rather adequate in filling the emptiness caused by him being ripped away from this reality. Without the replacement, this reality may collapse and all lives will end."

"Still, are there no other alternatives? Using a replacement in order to patch the rip on the fabric of reality is the safest method, but what will happen to the replacement upon learning her true purpose?" Marie said as she got up. "She may end up standing in our way to save that fool who's currently lost in the fog."

"We will deal with it once the time is right," Margaret said. "For now, all we can do is assist the replacement in her journey. Replacement or not, she is still a guest of the Velvet Room, and whatever she may end up facing in the future, she still requires our help."

Marie sighed. "I suppose you are right. Still, this whole thing is stupid. And that idiot ends up being spirited away from reality. He's being so troublesome… stupidjerkIhatehim…"

Margaret just smiled upon hearing that. It's been a while since the last time she heard such a thing from Marie.

* * *

"That was mean, you know that, right?" Yukiko said to Chie, chiding her for her act earlier. Both of them, together with Yuuna, walked down the corridor on their way out of the school.

Chie huffed. "Serves him right!" She crossed her arms. "That's what he gets for breaking my DVD!"

"Still…" Yuuna said as she looked at Chie. "Don't you think you went overboard back there? He might get lasting damage from that kick." That was an impressive kick from her back then, but that's beside the point. "Besides, DVDs are replaceable, but things like that aren't. You know what I mean, right?"

"W-well… he's always acting like a jerk sometimes, so, umm…" Chie tried to come up with something to rationalize what she did to that boy earlier, but she seemed to be having trouble doing it.

"Plus, you probably never felt it, but it definitely hurts like hell…" Yuuna added.

Chie gulped. Yukiko quirked one of her eyebrows as she looked at Chie.

"Chie…" Yukiko said.

Chie sighed. "Urgh… fine, fine. I'll apologize to him later. But only apologize, okay? No more than that! He broke my DVD, after all." Then, she gave Yuuna a curious look. "Still, about getting kicked at that part, how did you know? I mean, we're girls, right?"

Yuuna chuckled. "Well, girls or not, getting a kick at that part still hurts, you know?" Then, she grimaced. "And I'm speaking from experience here…"

"Whoa…" Chie gave Yuuna an amazed look.

Yuuna shrugged. "I was a member of wrestling club back at my old school, and there was a training accident. I couldn't feel the lower half of my body for three days straight thanks to that accident."

"Ouch." Chie grimaced. "Now I feel bad for doing that to him. But…" She raised one of her eyebrows. Three of them had already left the building of their school. "Did you say you were a member of wrestling club at your old school?" She looked at Yuuna from head to toe, noting that the silver-haired transfer student had quite a slender body. She couldn't imagine someone like her grappling a person on the wrestling mat. "You don't look like a wrestler to me."

Meanwhile, Yukiko seemed to be curious about something else. "Were you wearing spandex while wrestling?" After that, she added, "And a luchador mask too?"

Yuuna blinked. Chie's question was expected, but Yukiko's wasn't. She brought her hand to her mouth and pressed the hand to stifle a laugh. "Haha, well… we didn't wear luchador masks, that's for sure, Amagi-san." Then she smiled at Chie. "And I'm a lot tougher than I look, Chie-san." Wrestling was one of the things she was interested in back then, along with kendo and swimming.

Chie grinned excitedly. "Well, why don't we go train sometimes? I'm sure you have some skills to show, right?"

The three girls were on their way to the school gate where a boy, who didn't seem to be a student of Yasogami High, was waiting. As soon as they came nearer to the gate, the boy immediately approached them, and his eyes were fixed on Yukiko.

"You're Yuki, right?" The boy said to Yukiko. Yuuna looked at the boy and noticed how pale his skin was, probably due to not being exposed to sunlight for too long. While the boy might look normal, albeit on the plain side, the silver-haired girl thought that there was something wrong about him. Especially his eyes. Those eyes of his seemed rather vacant and didn't seem to be reflecting any light despite the fact that it was daytime.

"Huh?" Yukiko blinked in confusion when the strange boy addressed her.

The strange boy fidgeted slightly before he said, "Y-you want to go hang out somewhere?" He then wiped his palms on his blazer, indicating that they were sweaty, probably due to nervousness. Apparently, the strange boy was inviting Yukiko on a date.

Still in confusion, Yukiko spoke, "W-who are you?"

As for Chie, she went closer to Yukiko, giving the strange boy a wary look. Meanwhile, other students seemed to be gathering, noticing the boy's intention.

"What's up with him?" A male student said to another student. Both of them saw what happened. "What school's he from?" The boy wasn't wearing the school uniform of Yasogami High School, clearly indicating that he wasn't a student of the aforementioned school. He was probably a student of another school, which was located near Okina City.

"Never mind that, he's going for Yukiko-san? Man, you'd think he'd at least wait until she's on her own to make his move," the other student, a bespectacled one, spoke. Yuuna, Yukiko and Chie were able to hear them, because they weren't too far from them. Then, they started talking about betting a can of soda and some nonsense like the Amagi Challenge. Yuuna noticed the sour look on Chie's face while the boys were talking about that particular topic.

"Umm…" The strange boy tried to get Yukiko's attention. "S-so, are you coming or not?" He asked.

Yukiko seemed troubled while dealing with the strange boy. Yuuna glanced at Chie, who also seemed to be creeped out by the boy's presence. It's not just her who was disturbed by the boy's strangeness.

"I-I'm not going," Yukiko said to the boy.

The strange boy just stared at Yukiko's face for a few seconds before he scowled. His scowl made his facial features look even stranger than before. "Fine!" The boy said with an angry tone before he rushed away, leaving the girls near the gate.

Still in befuddlement, Yukiko looked at Chie. "Wh-what did he want from me?" She asked. "I don't think he's a student here. In fact, I never saw him before."

"What did he want? Obviously, he was asking you out on a date," Chie answered.

Yukiko seemed more confused than before. "Huh? Really?"

"Yeah, he was clearly asking you out on one," Yuuna said as she nodded. She remembered getting asked out before back at her old school, but she thought that she wasn't prepared to be in a relationship just yet.

Chie shook her head and sighed. "You really had no clue? Sheesh…" Then, she scowled as she remembered the strange boy who had asked Yukiko out. "But then again, that was completely over the top. It was creepy how he called you Yuki all of a sudden."

Then, the boy who got his family jewel kicked by Chie earlier showed up, pushing his bike. "Yo, Yukiko-san…" He said to Yukiko. The boy's reddish brown hair was messy, Yuuna had no idea whether it was intentional from his part, or it was simply because of him having to deal with his misfortune of getting his precious body part kicked. "Turned down another lovelorn fool, huh?" He said lightheartedly. He didn't seem to bear Chie ill will for kicking his groin earlier, because he probably knew that it was his fault for breaking her precious DVD.

Yuuna just watched as the boy tried to hit on Yukiko, only to be swiftly rejected by her. Drooping his head, the boy then walked away with his bicycle in tow.

"Umm…" Yukiko guiltily looked at Yuuna. "S-sorry you had to see that, Narukami-san."

"Well, that's definitely something…" Yuuna commented. She noticed that they were watched by other students who seemed to be interested about what happened earlier. "We're taking a lot of spotlights here, don't you think?" She said dryly.

"Y-yeah… l-let's get going," Yukiko said meekly. "C'mon, Chie."

"Alright, let's go!"

As she walked together with Yukiko and Chie, Yuuna could only wonder what kind of school year she would be having at this school, Yasogami High. She could only hope that everything would go smoothly.

…

Still, the silver-haired girl was unable to shake off this strange sensation that she had been feeling since a while ago. She wasn't sure, but she thought that everything felt kind of familiar.

"What are you waiting for, Yuuna-san? Let's go!"

 _"What are you waiting for, N…ru…mi-kun? Let's go!"_

It was probably just her imagination. Yuuna shook her head as she followed both Yukiko and Chie.

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Hello, this is me, Prince Arjuna. This is the second chapter of Silver by Another Name. As you can see, it still somehow follows canon, but at the same time, there are also a few differences here and there. I assure you that this story's progression will be different compared to the canon route. Also, the protagonist is a girl now, so a different progression is unavoidable. If you have something to say about Yuuna's personality, trust me, everything will make sense once the truth is revealed.

Special thanks for **Sorata Shioya** for beta-reading this chapter. Thanks a bunch! Also, don't forget to leave some reviews, or else the author may not be able to find his motivation to write the future chapters! So, I'd like you to look forward for the next chapter, **Chapter 03: Saki Konishi.** See you soon!

 **Prince Arjuna (2015)**


	3. Saki Konishi

"Ah…" Chie gave Yuuna a curious look after the silver-haired girl explained to her about the reason why she was transferred to Yasogami High School. Both of them, as well as Yukiko were walking together after they went out of the school grounds. They seemed to have passed by a rice field, which was already expected in a rural town like Inaba. "So, you came here because of your parents' job. Haha, I thought it was something way more serious."

Yuuna shrugged. "Well, my uncle agreed to take me in while my parents are busy with their jobs."

From what Yuuna could tell, Chie was a friendly and chatty girl. Quite a go-getter too, though a slightly violent one, which was proven from her assault on that poor boy's family jewels back at the school. The other one, Yukiko, was a quiet person and only talked when asked.

"Still, there really is nothing to see here, don'tcha think?" Chie said.

Yuuna thought for a while before she said, "I dunno. I'm a city girl, remember? I don't have much experience with places like this," she admitted. While she might have gone to this place once, it was when she was still too young to remember anything. There's no way she could remember much about it.

"Well, that makes sense," Chie said. "Like I said, there really is nothing here." The bleached-haired girl showed Yuuna a grin. "That's what makes it nice, but there's nothing much we can show to people from outside. Though, there is something from Mt. Yasogami… I think our dyed clothes or pottery or something is kinda famous. Oh wait, and there's the Amagi Inn! Yukiko's family runs it. It's the pride of Inaba!"

"Huh? It's… just an old inn," Yukiko decided to chime in.

Chie glanced at her black-haired friend. "No way, it's been in all sorts of magazines as a hidden treasure. It's a great inn! It's been going for generations, and Yukiko here is going to take over someday. Their inn actually attracts a lot of visitors to Inaba. It pretty much keeps this town going." Yuuna also heard about the inn before after reading a book about tourist spots in Japan. She didn't know that such a place was in Inaba.

"…I don't think that's entirely true," Yukiko said, seemingly embarrassed when her friend was gushing about her family's inn being the town's hidden gem.

"Actually, I once read about the Amagi Inn in a magazine before," Yuuna said. "It's actually listed among one of fifty places in Japan one must visit in their lifetime." If she was not mistaken, there was even a picture of Yukiko in the magazine, clad in a pink kimono. "I never expected it to be actually here…"

"See? I told you it's a hidden gem!" Chie said, grinning at her friend. Yukiko was flustered by this, causing the girl clad in green jacket to laugh. "C'mon, Yukiko! There's no need to be so modest! Still, seeing you like this, it's kinda cute, y'know?" She then looked at Yuuna. "Yuuna-san, would you believe me if I told you that she's never had a boyfriend yet? Even though she's so popular at school."

"C-Chie!" Yukiko became more flustered than before. "Come on… don't start this again…"

Chie looked like she was having fun teasing her friend, and Yuuna decided to join in as well. "That's a surprise, honestly. About having no boyfriend, I mean. If I were a guy, I might have fallen for you and asked you out, y'know?" She smiled teasingly at Yukiko.

"N-Narukami-san, n-not you too!" Yukiko protested. Then, she pouted. "Y-you two are mean…"

"C'mon, Yukiko. We're just kidding here, 'kay?" Chie said, patting Yukiko's back.

"Yeah, we're just joking," Yuuna said. "But if you took it personally, I'm sorry, Amagi-san. Just tell me if my words are bothering you, okay?"

"N-no, t-that's not what I meant," Yukiko shook her head, feeling guilty for taking their jokes seriously. "I-it's… just…" She trailed off when they saw the commotion not too far from them. There were a handful of people gathering in one area, and they even saw police cruisers parked there.

"What's that?" Chie voiced out the questions that were currently in their minds. They went closer to the crowd and listened to some of the people who were gossiping about the thing that had happened.

"So that high schooler left the school early, and as she came down this street…" One of the people who were gossiping, a shopping housewife, said in a voice loud enough for the three girls to hear.

"Wow. Who could imagine that hanging from an antenna?" Another housewife chimed in.

"I wanted to see it too," the shopping housewife said.

"Uh, you got here too late… The police and fire department took it down just a moment ago."

"Well, I think it's terrifying. I can't believe a dead body showed up around here…"

The three girls couldn't help but be disturbed when they listened to the conversation between the housewives. "Wait, what did she just say? A dead body!?" Chie spoke, voicing out what they currently had in their minds after learning what actually happened in this place.

"So that explains the sirens earlier…" Yuuna muttered, remembering the sounds of sirens back at the school earlier.

"Hmm? Did you say something, Narukami-san?" Yukiko asked, glancing at Yuuna.

"Ah, no. Just talking to myself," Yuuna shook her head. Then, she spotted someone coming over their direction. It was a gruff-looking middle-aged man whom she recognized.

"Hey, what're you doing here?" The man, Ryoutaro Dojima, spoke to them gruffly. There was an unlit cigarette between his lips, and from his rather unkempt look, it was clear that he didn't have much sleep since last night.

"We're just passing by, Uncle Dojima," Yuuna answered Dojima's question.

The police detective scowled as he scratched the back of his head. "Huh… I should have figured that'd happen. That damn principal. We told him not to let them through here…" He groused. He was probably referring to the principal of Yasogami High School.

Chie looked at Dojima before she glanced at Yuuna. "Hey, you know this guy?" She asked the silver-haired girl.

Dojima answered her question before Yuuna could answer it. "I'm Detective Dojima, her guardian. Uh… well, how should I say this…" he scratched the back of his head again. "I hope you get along with her. But you three really ought to stop wandering around and head straight home."

And right on cue, a younger police detective rushed over to their direction before he went to a nearby drainage to let out the things that he might have eaten last night. A police officer, vomiting at the crime scene. Wasn't that quite a rare sight to behold?

"Ngh… Uuurrghh…"

"Adachi!" Dojima shouted to the vomiting police detective, who was presumably his junior. "How long are you going to act like a rookie?! You want to be sent back to the central office?!"

"I-I'm sorry… Nngh…" The vomiting police officer, Adachi, replied weakly to Dojima.

Dojima sighed as he brought his hand to his forehead. "Go wash your face. We're gonna go around and gather information!" He then turned around and walked away, as the young police officer, Adachi, followed him.

"Was this what that announcement was about?" Chie wondered aloud. From her look, she seemed to be a little spooked because there was a dead body found in the area.

"What do they mean… it was hanging from the antenna?" Yukiko said curiously. She looked up as if trying to see whether the dead body was still hanging up there or not. But like what one of the housewives had said, the police and the fire department had already taken it down. Seeing such a thing hanging from the antenna would be the most terrifying thing ever, considering that the fog had already thinned. It might have been already there since the morning, but due to the weather and the fog, none of the passing students noticed it.

Chie shuddered. It sure was a morbid thing to think about, so she decided to change the subject as she looked at her friend. "Hey, Yukiko? Why don't we go to Junes some other time?"

As if noticing Chie's discomfort, Yukiko nodded. "Good idea."

Then, Chie looked at Yuuna. "Alright then, we're taking off. Starting tomorrow, neighbor, let's do our best!" She said with a cheerful smile on her face. Yuuna couldn't help but smile as well. While she believed that it might be her way to calm herself after learning that there was a dead body found hanging from the antenna, she also knew that the display of cheerfulness was at least genuine.

"To you as well, neighbor. See you tomorrow," Yuuna said. "And see you tomorrow as well, Amagi-san."

"Ah, see you tomorrow, Narukami-san," Yukiko replied.

So, Chie and Yukiko walked off. Yuuna thought that she might as well head home too, considering that Nanako was alone at home at the moment. And there was also the fact that a dead body was found in the area. So, it might be a homicide case. Leaving a minor alone at home wouldn't be a wise move to make. Due to that, she thought that heading back home was a right course of action.

Before she left, she caught a glimpse of one of the police officers at the crime scene. More specifically, the junior detective who was with her uncle. She remembered her uncle calling him Adachi. It might be his name, she believed.

But, as she looked at the man, whose appearance was rather unremarkable and nondescript at best, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head. And then there was a flash of an image of the same man, showing a twisted, deranged smile. A revolver was seen in his hand, and one of his eyes was glowing golden.

Feeling suddenly lightheaded, Yuuna immediately shook her head. She almost lost her balance as she vigorously did that. She had no idea what had happened. As she tried to recompose herself, Dojima noticed that she was still there, and he headed over to her direction. While his expression seemed stern, Yuuna could see that he was concerned with her when he saw her almost losing her balance.

"Hey, you okay?" Dojima asked.

Yuuna smiled slightly. "I-I'm fine. Don't worry, Uncle. I'm just feeling a little lightheaded."

Dojima sighed before he brought his hand to Yuuna's head, gently tapping it with his knuckle. She let out a yelp when her uncle did that. "Go straight home, Yuuna. Nanako's alone right now." Then, he showed her a stern look. "And you shouldn't stick around here. Go and lock the door once you're home. I'll probably be late so don't wait for me."

"R-right," Yuuna nodded. "W-well, see you later." And so, Yuuna left.

Dojima just looked at his niece leaving the scene. After she took a turn at a corner and disappeared, he let out another sigh. Then, he looked at his hand, specifically at his knuckle that he used to tap on his niece's head.

He just stared at it for a few moments before he lowered his hand and returned to continue his job. The area wasn't going to canvas itself, after all. Standing idly wouldn't bring out results, one of his seniors once said.

* * *

 **Silver by Another Name**

 **Persona 4 AU**

 **Chapter 03: Saki Konishi**

"Say, Nanako-chan, is your father always this late?" Yuuna asked Nanako when both of them were watching the television. The pigtailed young girl looked at her cousin as she heard her question.

"W-well, not always…" Nanako said. "Dad's a police detective, but this town is usually peaceful, so there are not many bad guys around here. But…" She looked said as she continued. "When there's a bad guy, he'll be home late…"

"Ah, I see…" Yuuna mused. "I'm sorry I asked." The girl might be lonely because her father wasn't at home at the moment. And now that there was a case he was currently dealing with, he might not be able to be home until the next day. Due to her own situation, Yuuna could relate to her little cousin.

Nanako shook her head. "It's okay. Dad always told me to lock the door when I'm home alone. And he also told me to go to bed early."

Yuuna smiled when she heard that. She went closer to Nanako and stroked her head. "I see. You're a good girl, Nanako-chan."

Hearing Yuuna's words, Nanako beamed brightly before she spoke, "And now I have you too! You're so kind! And warm! Just like Mom!" When she said that, she seemed to remember something before she looked down, not saying anything.

Seeing Nanako acting like that, Yuuna couldn't help but be worried. "Nanako-chan? What's wrong?"

"You smell like Mom too…" Nanako said softly. "I miss her…"

Yuuna was aware of the implication behind Nanako's words. Nanako seemed sad when she mentioned her mother, and Yuuna couldn't help herself as she pulled the little girl into a hug.

"Don't worry, now Big Sis Yuuna is here for you…" Yuuna said soothingly.

"B-big Sis?" Nanako seemed puzzled when she was suddenly hugged by her cousin. "Big Sis?" She blinked, repeating what Yuuna had said.

"Yeah, Big Sis…" Yuuna said as she stroked Nanako's head.

While Nanako still seemed puzzled by the display of affection from Yuuna, she smiled at her. As Yuuna held Nanako close to her, there was the news on television which showed about the incident that happened in Inaba.

"Our top story this evening concerns a bizarre case in a quiet suburb. Around noon today, a woman was found dead near the Samegawa River in Inaba."

The picture of the School Zone was shown on the television. Any doubts about the news report being about the incident that happened back then had been dispelled.

"The deceased has been identified as Ms. Mayumi Yamano, a 27-year-old announcer at the local television station," the announcer continued. "The initial results of the Inaba Police Department's investigation have revealed…"

Nanako showed a sad expression. It seemed that her worries had been confirmed.

"Dad is going to be late…" Nanako muttered sadly.

Wordlessly, Yuuna just patted Nanako's head. Nanako seemed to be enjoying the gesture.

"Umm…" Nanako looked at Yuuna's face uncertainly. "B-big Sis?"

"Yes?" Yuuna said.

"Umm… can I… sleep with you tonight?" Nanako asked with an embarrassed tone.

Yuuna smiled. "Of course. Let's sleep together like last night."

Then, they heard the familiar jingles on the television. It was the commercial theme song of Junes. When it started playing, Nanako sang the theme. Feeling elated while seeing Nanako is such a good mood, Yuuna also followed her. Both of them sang the theme song together while Nanako was sitting on Yuuna's lap.

"Every day's great at your Junes!" Both girls sang together happily.

* * *

The next day, Yuuna went to school. It was cloudy with a chance of rainfall, so the silver-haired girl brought her umbrella with her. As she walked, she noticed that some of the students were looking at her while talking among themselves. It's probably because she was the new transfer student or because of her unusual hair color. Yuuna decided to ignore them for the time being.

As she walked, she once again noticed the poor boy from yesterday, crashing into the trash bins. He tried to free himself uselessly as he rolled on the ground while having the upper part of his body stuck inside one of the trash bins.

Well, at the very least someone had been helping him to get out of the bin. Seeing no need to help him out, Yuuna continued walking to school. As she walked, she recognized one of the students in front of her and she went over to her in order to greet her.

"Good morning, Konishi-senpai," Yuuna greeted the student who was her upperclassman, Saki Konishi. She was able to remember her due to her droopy eyes and beautiful face.

Somehow, when Saki looked at her, Yuuna could tell that she was troubled, but as soon as she saw her, the droopy-eyed girl smiled at her and returned her greeting. "Good morning to you too, Narukami-san. Oh my, aren't you early?" She asked.

"Well, early bird catches the bookworm, right?" Yuuna said good-naturedly. "Still, are you okay, senpai? You look a bit down."

Saki let out a sigh before she spoke, "Don't worry. Things got a little hectic yesterday, but everything's fine."

"Ah…" Yuuna nodded as she listened to Saki. Then, both of them walked together to school, chatting about various things. Saki told her that her family had been managing a liquor store for generations. The liquor store could be found at the shopping district. She also told her that she had a younger brother named Naoki Konishi. He's a first-year, she added.

When they arrived at Yasogami High School, Saki told her that she had something to do, so she bid Yuuna farewell and told her that they would meet later.

But as soon as Saki turned on her heel, Yuuna suddenly felt a sharp jolt in her head. She had this feeling that if she did nothing, this would be the last time she could meet her upperclassman.

"S-senpai!" Yuuna called for Saki, and Saki stopped, glancing over her shoulder.

"Yes?" Saki asked.

"If you don't mind, would you like to hang out after school?" Yuuna gave Saki that question without thinking. She had no idea why the question suddenly came up inside her head, but she mindlessly blurted it out as she asked Saki to hang out with her after school.

Saki blinked. Yuuna realized how strange her question actually sounded, and considering that she didn't really know her, the question somehow suddenly came up out of nowhere. Wouldn't it be better for her to ask her classmates instead of her upperclassman she barely knew? Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that she needed to meet her after school, or she might not be able to meet her again.

After looking at Yuuna for a few moments, Saki then nodded. "W-well, sure. I have a part-time job after school at Junes, but hanging out with a junior doesn't sound like a bad idea to me," she smiled at Yuuna. "Let's exchange numbers, then. Call me once school's over."

Both girls exchanged their numbers before they parted ways. Yuuna just absentmindedly stared at Saki leaving her before she looked at the screen of her phone. Then, the bell rang, telling them that homeroom session would start shortly after this.

Yuuna still felt a bit strange, though. She didn't know why she had been having this strange feeling lately. But, thinking about such a thing could wait, because homeroom session would start. She, alongside her classmates, would hate it if Mr. Morooka started rambling on and on about their tardiness.

* * *

After the school day was over, Yuuna gave Saki a call and met up at the gate. Both girls chatted with each other as they walked down the road. Yuuna noticed that while Saki still looked tired, she seemed much better than before, which was actually good. As for Chie and Yukiko, both of them headed to Junes.

Both Yuuna and Saki headed to the shopping district. Being a new person in town, Saki offered to be Yuuna's guide, and the silver-haired girl graciously accepted the offer.

Yuuna followed Saki as the third-year student told her about the shops in the shopping district. There were a lot of old-fashioned shops to be found there, though some of them were out of business.

"It all started six months ago, when Junes was opened in Inaba," Saki informed helpfully. "Being a rather large shopping mall, many of the shops in the shopping district were forced to close…" She sighed. "It's rather inevitable, I guess. I mean, the new will always replace the old, right? You can't expect something to stay forever…"

Yuuna nodded upon hearing Saki's thought about the current situation in Inaba regarding the businesses. "Yes, changes are inevitable," the silver-haired girl agreed with Saki.

Saki sighed again. "There will be a time when this shopping district is closed forever. That's the consequence of progress here in Inaba…" The third-year student smiled blandly as she looked at Yuuna. "Well, let's stop talking about philosophical stuff now, shall we? I'm supposed to be guiding you around, not talking your ears off with philosophies." She giggled before she added, "Especially since Mr. Morooka's been filling in for that department. He's teaching philosophy in your class, right?"

Yuuna chuckled. "To be fair, we can never have enough philosophical talks in our lifetime. And I much prefer hearing about it from you instead of Mr. Morooka, Konishi-senpai."

"My, I'm so glad to hear that," Saki smiled happily. Yuuna noted that she no longer looked exhausted, which was good. "Still, I can't help but wonder why you prefer to hang out with me instead of your classmates, Narukami-san."

Sheepishly, Yuuna scratched the back of her head before she said, "W-well, you looked kinda down back then, so I figured you might want a little bit of cheering up."

Saki seemed a little astonished by what Yuuna had told her. But then, she laughed.

"W-what's so funny, Konishi-senpai?" Yuuna said, blushing. "I-I really meant it!"

"Ahaha, sorry, sorry…" Saki apologized to the silver-haired girl after she stopped laughing. "It's just… I've never heard something like that before. Are city girls always like this? Offering to cheer up a relative stranger like me?"

"T-that has nothing to do with being a city girl, senpai…" Yuuna said. "I just thought that it's the right thing to do, is all…"

Saki looked at Yuuna for a while longer before she smiled gently at her. The silver-haired girl could tell it was a genuine smile. "I'm so glad to hear it, Narukami-san." She looked aside. "It's just… things got a little difficult lately, it's hard to tell whether someone's being genuine or not."

"Senpai?" Yuuna blinked.

Before Saki could say any more, she stopped and narrowed her eyes. She seemed to be looking at something. Yuuna looked at what Saki was looking at and saw a group of people, with one of them holding a video recorder. Upon first glimpse, Yuuna could tell that these people were reporters.

"Narukami-san, let's get going…" Saki said abruptly before she held Yuuna's hand and walked away from the reporters who saw them. They seemed to be following them as they moved away. "Tch… those people are annoying…" The third-year student grumbled as she pulled Yuuna along with her. She increased her pace as she walked away.

"S-senpai, w-what's wrong?" Yuuna almost panicked when the older girl pulled her away from the reporters. She winced slightly as Saki's grip on her wrist became stronger.

When they saw that the reporters were no longer following them, Saki stopped. She was still holding Yuuna's wrist. "Finally… I hope they're not waiting in front of the liquor shop…" She sighed.

"Umm… senpai?"

"Yes?" Saki looked at the silver-haired girl whose wrist was currently in her grip.

"I don't know what's going on here, but… it'll be nice if you can let go of my hand?" Yuuna said, pointing at Saki's hand that was still holding her wrist.

"Huh?" Saki looked at her hand and realized that she was still holding Yuuna's wrist. She immediately let go of her hand and looked away in embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry, Narukami-san!"

After Saki apologized to her, Yuuna looked behind to see if the reporters were still following them. They were nowhere to be found. "Umm… what's going on, senpai? Why are you avoiding the reporters?"

Saki looked down. "I-it's complicated…"

Yuuna frowned.

Saki sighed. "Actually… those reporters are looking for me so that they can interview me…" She ran her fingers through her curly hair. "Urgh… I hope they will stop that. They've been waiting in front of my house since this morning…"

"Senpai…" Yuuna looked at the third-year student's face.

Seeing Yuuna's clueless face, Saki sighed again before she said, "I guess I should tell you this, Narukami-san. The reason why they were looking for me is because they want to interview the student who found the dead body yesterday…"

Yuuna gasped. "Y-you mean…"

Saki slowly nodded. "Yes. Yesterday, I was the one who found the dead body of Mayumi Yamano…"

* * *

Marie was writing something on a piece of paper in her palm while sitting on one seat in the limousine she was currently in while Margaret was sitting on the other seat, reading the tome that she usually held in her hands. The master of the room, Igor, was nowhere to be seen. After a while, Marie stopped writing and folded the paper before she put it into her handbag.

"Things will get a little different this time…" Marie muttered. "Thanks to a certain idiot who ended up being spirited away from reality, there's going to be a disturbance in the space-time continuum…" She grumbled. "And someone like me has to work harder as a result…"

Margaret stopped reading and looked at Marie. "Take heart, Marie. Is it not your duty to fulfill mankind's wishes and bring happiness to them? Doing extra work won't hurt a goddess anytime soon…"

Marie pouted. "But it's still stupid. Stupid idiot. Stupid."

Margaret sighed. "You ought to start acting dignified, Marie."

"Meh, it's tiring. I'll pass…" Marie said before she took out another piece of paper before she started writing another poem, or 'the scream of her pathos' as she would usually say. Margaret resumed her reading.

For a while, both women did not say anything.

"Say, Margaret…" Marie looked at the golden-eyed attendant of the Velvet Room as she spoke to her, breaking the silence in the limousine and pausing her writing as she did so. "Don't you have reservations about this replacement?"

Margaret stopped reading again as she looked at Marie. "In truth, yes. I do have doubts about this replacement. Still, it is the best thing we can manage in order to save him from the malice of the fog, Marie."

"But… that replacement is not him…" Marie said. "What if she does something different? Something complicated will happen if that's the case, and I hate complicated stuff…"

Margaret mulled over it for a while before she said, "That's a thing to discuss in the future. For the time being, just like Master has said, we are to treat the replacement like the guest of this room. I suggest you to be patient for the time being, Marie…" Margaret smiled at the avatar of Izanami-no-Mikoto.

Marie huffed. "It's all that idiot's fault. If only he could keep himself out of troubles, he wouldn't end up like this, stupidjerkIhatehim!"

Margaret smiled. There were things that would never change, no matter what.

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

 **Author's Note:** It's been more than a year since the last time I updated this story, huh? I'm sorry about that. So, here's the third chapter of the fanfic, **Silver by Another Name.** Things are starting to deviate from canon from now on, and things will be a lot more different than what we used to know about the story of Persona 4. In the meantime, I'm waiting in anticipation for Persona 5 next year. I will buy myself a PS4 this Christmas. By the way, I'm a teacher now, so there may be long breaks in between updates, so I apologize in advance.

Like always, special thanks for **Sorata Shioya** for beta-reading this chapter. You're awesome, you know that? So, my dear readers, please don't forget to leave reviews and comments about this chapter. While I usually write for fun, it's good to have reviews to make myself more motivated to write stuff. Criticisms are also accepted. Please stay tuned for the next chapter, **Chapter 04: Midnight Channel.** Have fun, you guys!

 **Prince Arjuna (2016)**


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